In the first quarter of this year, the city attracted an amount of 1.286 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 45 percent of the provincial total, a 21.65 percent increase year on year and 9 percentage points higher than the provincial average, according to the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

Statistics show that utilization of foreign capital in the manufacturing and service sectors is on the rise. From January to March, the city approved 26 foreign-invested manufacturing programs with $556 million, an 11 percent increase.

Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan are the primary sources of foreign capital that flow into Qingdao, accounting for 70 percent of the total amount. FDI from Hong Kong stood at $760 million in the first quarter. The numbers from South Korea and Japan are $60 million and $50 million.

Fortune 500 companies like Mitsubishi Group of Japan and CJ Corporation of Korea began to do business in Qingdao. The municipal government has also established a close relationship with world famous multinational corporations, including hiring IBM as well as the Big Four accounting firms as its advisors for foreign investment.

Among the 15 quasi-provincial capitals, Qingdao was the first to decentralize the approval of foreign-invested companies to lower administration levels.